39 Responses

Just add him to the list of Hershey Hawkins, Lionel Simmons, Keith Van Horn, Adam Morrison, Gerry MacNamara, etc………..Very good college ball player, but he has ZERO chance in the NBA. Sorry, but truth. He can’t guard anyone on the NBA level. Johnny Flynn would abuse him, and he plays on the worst team in the league. Cheers.

Reilly is way too over the top. Calling Fredette’s teammates pizza delivery guys is ridiculous. They didn’t win all of those games because of one guy. I don’t think anyone ever said Jimmer played good D or that he was going to be a great (or even good) NBA player. Reilly should probably watch more than one game if he’s going to bash a college guy and his college teammates.

Haters all around now!!! Pathetic. So the guy leads a team to a 30 win season,leads the nation in scoring,buries shots from all over the court,leads his depleted team to a top 5 ranking and all of a sudden he’s dog meat??? Please!!! Give the guy a chance before he is written off!! How many years have guys like Eddie House,Dell Curry,and other limited guys played and succeeded in the league…. MANY YEARS

Reilly is a bit harsh but the fact is in the biggest game of his life on the biggest stage Jimmer had his worst game. Awful shooting, sloppy passing and disinterested defense. To have his own teammate call him out over his lack of defense tells you something. Steve Nash isn’t an excellent defender but he gives max effort. Jimmer gave next to none — no box-out, no ball denial, no force your man left, standing upright watching his four teammates defend and waiting for the ball, etc. Frankly, it was painful to watch. I’m a big Jimmer fan but his defense Friday night (and for most of the year) was inexcusable. He better straighten that out or not only won’t he succeed at the next level but he will annoy his teammates.

Jimmer has a chance to make it in the NBA but he will never be a starter. He will be a good role player who can spark an offense by tossing in a few points. As such, he will make someone’s roster and hang around for a few years.

Overall, he has an excellent shot but he’s not quick enough or big enough to get himself open on a regular basis. He reminds me a lot of Ernie DeGregorio…excellent college player but not a good fit for the NBA.

Rick Reilly was great when he was at SI but since he has moved to ESPN he has turned into an a$$. Apparently, he thinks he has to write for a “cooler, younger” demographic and has become snarky and stupid.

Jimmer’s defense, really?!? That’s what people are getting on him for? He shoots from outside, he penetrates, he draws contact from much bigger players and carries a HUGE portion of his team’s scoring load and you’re gonna rip on his defense? Aren’t his teammates supposed to step up and do anything?

His style of scoring requires huge expenditures of energy and he’s supposed to be a shutdown man-to-man defender?

Jimmer carried his team to a Sweet Sixteen and took Florida to OT despite BYU losing 2 of their big men this season. He just wore down against Florida because he had no supporting cast and a clueless coach. He was clearly tired and losing his legs. (Reggie Miller pointed this out numerous times.) His coach needed to get him some time on the bench so he would have something left down the stretch. There was a very easy way to do that but the coach is clearly an idiot. Florida was HORRIBLE from the foul line. At one point I think they were shooting better from the 3-pt line than they were from the foul line. The BYU coach should have taken Jimmer out and had his team start playing very physically even to the point of Hack-A-Shaq. That way Jimmer is resting and Florida is getting 1 maybe 2 points at a time with the clock stopped as opposed to 3 at a time with the clock running.

Jimmer has been having people say he wouldn’t succeed at every level and then lighting them up. I think he will be a good NBA player. He may not make an All Star team but he will play 10+ years and be a solid contributor. The key is his strength and his ability to get to the basket, draw a foul and finish through contact. He is also an excellent passer and next year he will be able to pass the ball to teammates that can score.

He will be able to play better defense because he won’t have to carry all or even most of the scoring load.

you are nuts if you think jimmer won’t be a good nba player. the kid has a heart and competitive drive as big my everest. then add his abilities to the equation, and they are many, and you will have
solid nba player. with not only the range, quick release, and ability to actually “jump” with his jump shot, but also the creativity and crossover and ability to pass in his bag of tricks, this kid will be a good offensive player. add in that he will hit 90% of his foul shots and i expect him to be a 15 pt a night guy in the nba. i don’t think he ever will be a “great” defensive player, but mark my words; he will be a consistent offensive presence on a nightly basis in the nba and with a solid team around him, will only get better and stronger as he matures into a 20 something man.

It’s been exciting watching a local kid get sooo much national attention, but if you really break down Jimmers game, he’ll be a liability on defense for any NBA team and he’ll never be allowaed to be the “Gunner” that allows him to score so many points in college.

I’d love for him to be successful, but some players aren’t good NBA fits and Jimmers one of them…. He’ll get his shot to prove people wrong and I’ll be happy to eat my words If your looking for a good comparison from another sport.. (See Tim Tebow..)

Rick Reilly is a hack. He used to be such a great writer at Sports Illustrated that it’s sad, too. So often he mails in his columns for ESPN. He’s even been caught a couple times, he’s written a duplicate column 2-3 times for ESPN, a column that he wrote for SI and edited for timeliness.

Sean Pidgeon, you say “Jimmer doesn’t play defense because he plays 40 minutes per game and has to carry BYU’s offense by himself” but I’ve watched Kemba Walker in a similar situation (in a much tougher league) do the same AND he’s played 9 games in 19 days. Kemba not only plays much better defense but his EFFORT is much greater and that is the thing that is indefensible and disappointing with Jimmer — his lack of defense and indifference on the defensive end which cost his team in the end. And don’t say Jimmer’s scoring means more to his team than Kemba’s does to UCONN. Kemba only has ONE other double-digt scorer on his team… Jimmer had TWO.

Ok, i read the article responding to Reilly’s and he shouldn’t get fired. It is america and guys like Reilly, right or wrong, have the right to write whatever they want. With that being said, he is an idiot. No one has ever said that Jimmer is going to take the NBA Storm here’s what he is going to be. A top-15 pick this year, which will pay him an average of 2.2 million per season or more for the next 4 years. Okay, after that contract, book it, he’ll get an extension for another 4-5 years, worth 3-4 mill per season.

He’ll play 10 years in the association, probably banking 5-10 million because he’s a smart kid and then retire at the rip old age of 32. What a loser

He’s a good kid, who’s going to have a career in the NBA, period. He might play 20 minutes a game, might play 10, but he’ll be in the best basketball league in the World, we all wish we were that, NOT good.

The question about whether or not Jimmer will go to the NBA is irrelevant. The fact is that Rick Reilly thinks its alright to bully college kids about their religion and call it sports writing. Have we gotten to the point where sportswriters criticize someones athletic ability by referencing their moral beliefs? Then there should be just as many articles from Reilly et al about the lack of morality by players and coaches in the rest of the NCAA. ….crickets…..but there isn’t. Its easier to use your national podium to attempt to bring kids down to Reilly’s level.

The idea about playing 40 minutes a game as a reason for not playing defense is absurd. See how many minutes a game Kemba Walker or Jared Sullinger played this year. Jimmer is an outstanding college player and I hope he kills it at the next level although I fear the second coming of Adam Morrison.

The speed, strength and length in the league is much different than it is in college. It’s possible that he could be a Vinny Johnson, Eddie House, etc. unlikely that he’ll be a full time contributor at the next level.

I’ve watched almost all of Jimmer’s games this year and last, not just the Florida game, so I think I have a little perspective. How many players in college force the opposing coach to totally leave his defensive philosophy and concoct some crazy scheme just to keep a point guard from dropping 40 on his team? Only Jimmer. Kemba? Not a chance. Over the course of this season, no one player could guard Jimmer. The first half of the MWC schedule, Jimmer torched pretty much everybody (except Air Force’s zone and TCU, for some odd reason). The second half of the season, they all played bumper cars with Jimmer, who got very few calls from MWC refs. Against New Mexico, he scored 52, and shot one free throw. One. Hard to imagine, the way the kid plays. Point is, in the NBA, nobody can afford to double-team a point guard. Don’t be surprised if Jimmer does better than anybody thinks he will. The NBA is actually more suited to his game.

There are surely a lot of comments from people who have never played the game of basketball. I played and am in my 70’s and I have never seen anything like Jimmer Fredette. I know, I know, Reilly, formerly of Sports Illustrated, is an 11-time National Sportswriter of the Year, but did he ever play basketball and if so where and how well. He obviously has not watched Jimmer in his average game especially before the refs somehow unilaterally decided to let most of the fouls on Jimmer go. It made me so mad I wanted to launch an investigation on how they (the refs) came to that position. They decided the outcome of the game. Shame on them.

New’s Flash nobody plays defense in the NBA, plus he’ll be facing 2nd unit PG’s, and he won’t be getting doubled teamed as soon as he crosses half court. Jimmer will have plenty of opportunities to stay in the league for a long time a la Kyle Korver. Great FT shooter and you can’t leave him open. He’ll have a spot for a long time.

Anyone here who says Jimmer is a better player than Kemba is a joke. Jimmer may score more, but look what Kemba does for his team. He makes the players around him better. I don’t see that in Jimmer. Walker plays defense, gets steals.

Have you watched the BYU defense? Jimmer just roams around the court, walking around, not sticking to any man in particular. I seriously worry about his ability to play defense in the NBA. Maybe he can provide some instant offense, but I just dont see him having the defensive skills to be more than a role player.

Sean Pidgeon, you say “Jimmer doesn’t play defense because he plays 40 minutes per game and has to carry BYU’s offense by himself” but I’ve watched Kemba Walker in a similar situation (in a much tougher league) do the same AND he’s played 9 games in 19 days. Kemba not only plays much better defense but his EFFORT is much greater and that is the thing that is indefensible and disappointing with Jimmer — his lack of defense and indifference on the defensive end which cost his team in the end. And don’t say Jimmer’s scoring means more to his team than Kemba’s does to UCONN. Kemba only has ONE other double-digt scorer on his team… Jimmer had TWO

BS….. this ish doesnt fly as long as im in this comment thread…. Kemba plays 4 UCONN not byu….. Uconn is a national power genius. they have mcdonalds all americans year in and year out…… kemba first lets get straight has a ton of help…… kemba also lost nine games this year……. fredette took measely almost never heard of BYU to a top 5 ranking before he had the rug pulled from underneath him, and was robbed of his only big man…… top 5… kemba also barely averages more in the steals department, and guess what, on the offensive end he fails in comparison to fredettes numbers….ppg jimmer by 5 points… then you go to %’s and you will find that jimmer shoots better than kemba from the floor, from deep, and from the foul line…. their assist are almost identical…… so please take that kemba does it better crap elsewhere…. walker has a nice post season run going on, but over the course of the 35 game entire season, fredette has been in a league of his own… there is a reason that Jimmer has already received five national player of the year awards and counting, and kemba doesnt have a one… and thats not due to kemba doing things a whole lot better… no one this season got even remotely the attention fredette got from opposing defenses… kemba doesnt see the nightly triple teams like fredette does… because everyone Uconn plays knows what else is on the floor with walker…. and everyone unfortunately knew what was on the floor with fredette….. yet with all the attention he got, in some of his biggest games he posted 39,47,42,43,38, and 52!!!!!!!! then pumped in 30+ in all three tourney games… and you are gonna try and tell us kemba had the same load on the offensive end of the court… please….. he went +40 once…….

and where the heck is all this jimmer doesnt play any defense coming from……… its like some one starts the crap and it takes on a life of its on…….. most of the time byu played a freekin zone… ive never seen fredette lit up by anyone, nor have i seen him not handle his responsibility in their zone….. it really trips me out…. and fredettes scoring with out a doubt meant more to byu than kemba does with uconn…..

Funny Mark, after UConn beat San Diego St. in the NCAA’s, at the postgame press conference the 3 seniors for the Aztecs were asked an obviously relative question: “Who would you rather face, Kemba or Jimmer?” Their answer was quick, “KEMBA.”

Don’t ever forget who they each play with. Kemba played with HS All-American types his whole career at UConn. Jimmer gets to play with Mormons, that happen to play basketball.

As for the NBA, I agree. Jimmer will be a role player, but so will the 5’11” Walker.

chad says, “where the heck is all this jimmer doesnt play any defense coming from?” I don’t know, maybe his own teammate? “The weird thing is, [his defense] has gotten progressively worse over the year,” said Nick Martineau. “From the start, he’s never really been accountable to it.” Anyone with a modicum of basketball knowledge could discern his lack of effort on the defensive end of the court by watching his games. Lastly, in one breath chad speaks of the talent disparity between UCONN/Big East and BYU/Mountain West and then in the next breath uses statistics to prove Jimmer’s superior talent over Kemba — LOL. Geez. I wish there was more objective and informed analysis on this board and less name-calling, exclamation points and kool-aid drinking. I’m a Jimmer fan and want him to succeed at the next level. To do so he’ll need to step up his game, especially on the defensive end.

Jimmer could put more effort into his defense, as for comparisons to NBA players if he does as well as Hawkins, Van Horn and Simmons he will have a good career. I think he will do better than Morrison and as long as he makes a team will do better than McNamara.